


Many Things

by LadyOfSnakes



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: D&D is weird and that weirdness should be embraced, Deck of Many Things, Gen, spoilers though episode 65
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOfSnakes/pseuds/LadyOfSnakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy, Vex, and Keyleth return to the fortune teller in the Suncut Bazaar. This time, he offers a different deck of cards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Many Things

“You return.” The blind sooothsayer did not even flinch as the trio sat down in front of him again. They had been quiet approaching, or so they’d thought.

“Yes,” Keyleth said, glancing over at Percy and Vex next to her, “We have one more question to ask you. If you don’t mind.”

The old man shuffled the cards in his hands, fingers moving faster than they had earlier that day. Suddenly, he dropped them, the cards falling before him in a perfect fan. “I saw you were coming. I am to offer you each a choice.”

Percy’s eyebrows raised above his glasses, “A choice between what, I wonder?”

The soothsayer ran his hands over the cards before him, quickly gathering them up into a new, perfectly neat stack. Then, from a box beside him, he pulled out another, smaller deck.

From what they could see, the new cards were fairly plain. The backs had intricate scrollwork printed on them, but the edges were frayed and it looked like the deck had once had gilding, but it was worn away in patches. The man shuffled them, then looked to each of them in turn, though his eyes remained clouded and unfocused. “A choice to play with fate itself. You may each draw one, two, or three cards from this deck. Or you may draw none.”

“Will they answer our question, sir?” Vex asked, then dropped her hand to the money pouch at her belt. “And how much will it cost?”

The old man shook his head slightly, “The cost is the outcome. This is old magic, chaotic magic. You may find yourselves richer beyond belief. You may gain incredible power. You may die.”

“Wait, _die_?!” Keyleth asked, her voice rising in pitch. “Those cards can kill us?”

“Yes. Do you wish to draw–”

Keyleth stood quickly, the antlers of her headdress catching on the half-dome tent in her rush. “No. This is a pointless risk.”

At the same time, Percy said, “I’ll draw three.”

“Percy!”

Vex looked between her friends, then back to the man. “I’ll take just one.”

“Vex, Percy, this is a bad idea. What if this kills you?” Keyleth grabbed the shoulder of Percy’s shirt, trying to tug him to his feet. “Don’t do this.”

“The last time I was here, I was told it was a time for new beginnings. I think I’m going to trust my choice this time.” Vex reached out, and drew the top card from the deck the soothsayer still held, flipping it over in front of them. She could read the old Draconic text, but she knew the others could probably figure it out from the image of a single, beautiful gemstone.

The soothsayer reached out and touched the edge of the card, before picking it up and shuffling it back into the deck. There, where the card had laid, were five large, perfect gems. “ _Gem_. Take these. They are yours.”

Vex’s eyes went wide, though she hesitated before picking them up. They didn’t seem to be trapped, or even magical, just beautiful. They’d fetch a high price, potentially enough to pay for a few days of Pike’s extra-planer friend, if it came to that. Carefully, she wrapped them in a cloth before tucking them away. “Thank you, sir. Be pleased.”

The old man shuffled the deck a few more times before holding the deck out again, this time directly to Percy.

“Don’t. I have a really bad feeling about this.” Keyleth tugged at Percy’s shoulder again.”

“It is too late. He has chosen to draw. Many things may happen now.” The soothsayer didn’t take his milky white eyes off of Percy, even as he spoke to Keyleth.

Percy took a deep breath, then reached out and drew, flipping the cards over in front of him as Vex had. He could not read the Draconic, and the images…

He stared at the first as the old man touched it. It had a horrible face on it, a grimace surrounded by snakes. Deep inside, Percy felt ill, in a way he had not for months.

“ _Euryale_ ,” the blind man said, then took the card away.

The next card was an image of an intricate key. The picture itself seemed to shine for a moment, before Percy felt the weight of something in his hands.

“ _Key_ ,” the soothsayer said, but Percy wasn’t listening. Instead, he was inspecting the gun that had appeared. It looked a little like Bad News, but the twin barrels had intricate runes engraved on them and the metal seemed to vibrate on its own. 

“What is that?” Vex asked, leaning over to look at it.

“Something that will help us defeat some dragons, I believe.” Percy smiled, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach. He leaned forward again and pushed his glasses back up his nose to focus on the final card.

“ _Balance_.” The card was an image of a person with long hair, blindfolded, and holding a set of scales. After saying the name, the soothsayer picked the card up and returned it to the deck. With a flash, the deck disappeared.

“That sounds good. What does that do?” Keyleth leaned over, her hand still on her friend’s shoulder.

Percy blinked up at her. What _had_ the last card done? The old man had returned to his meditative posture and hadn’t responded to Keyleth’s question.

“I think….I think it’s changed me, a bit. Made me rethink some things. Come on, let’s go find the others. I have an idea.” Percy stood, then offered his hand to Vex to help her up as well. “I think I know what we can do to fight Thordak more effectively.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Deck of Many Things is a real artifact in Dungeons & Dragons, first introduced in the _Greyhawk_ supplement in 1975. It is super powerful and is, to paraphrase Matt Colville, the kind of thing that game designers would consider too weird and broken to put in games now. I used a random number generator to draw the cards for the characters, and yes, Percy was just that unlucky. Really though, it could have been worse.
> 
> The cards are:  
> Gem- a small fortune in jewels or jewelry appears  
> Euryale- you are cursed with -2 on all saving throws until the curse is lifted using the Fates card or through divine intervention  
> Key- a rare or rarer magic weapon with which you are proficient appears in your hands  
> Balance- your alignment is inverted, good becomes evil, chaotic becomes lawful, and vice versa


End file.
